(11 Apr 2017) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY
US POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY
Lucca - 11 April 2017
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State:
"Last week (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad's regime killed even more of its own people using chemical weapons. Our missile strike in response to his repeated use of banned weapons was necessary as a matter of US national security interest. We do not want the regime's uncontrolled stockpile of chemical weapons to fall into the hands of ISIS (Islamic State group) or other terrorist groups who could and want to attack the United States or our allies. Nor can we accept the normalisation of the use of chemical weapons by other actors or countries in Syria or elsewhere."
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State:
"It is our policy for a unified Syria that is governed by the people of Syria. I think it is..... it's clear to all of us that the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end. But the question of how that ends and the transition itself could be very important, in our view, to the durability, the stability inside of a unified Syria, and it's the stability and durability of the outcome going forward. So that's why we're not presupposing how that occurs. But I think it is clear that we see no further role for the Assad regime longer term, given that they have effectively given up their legitimacy with these type of attacks."
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State:
"They had signed the Chemical Weapons Accord themselves - the Syrian government. The Russian government had signed that accord. Now Assad has made the Russians look not so good under these circumstances. I think it's also worth thinking about - Russia has really aligned itself with the Assad regime, the Iranians and Hezbollah. Is that a long term alliance that serves Russia's interest? Or would Russia prefer to realign with the United States, with other western countries and Middle East countries who are seeking to resolve the Syrian crisis? We want to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people. We want to create a future for Syria that is stable and secure. And so Russia can be a part of that future and play an important role or Russia can maintain its alliance with this group, which we believe is not going to serve Russia's interest longer term, but only Russia can answer that question."
STORYLINE:
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday Russia must choose between aligning itself with the US and like-minded countries or embracing embattled Syrian leader Bashar Assad, Iran and militant group Hezbollah.
As he embarked on a trip to Moscow following urgent meetings in Italy with top diplomats, Tillerson said it was unclear whether Russia had failed to take seriously its obligation to rid Syria of chemical weapons, or had merely been incompetent.
"We want to relieve the suffering of the Syrian people. Russia can be a part of that future and play an important role," Tillerson said.
"Or Russia can maintain its alliance with this group, which we believe is not going to serve Russia's interests longer term."
Since the US launched airstrikes against Assad's forces in retaliation for a chemical attack on civilians last week, Trump administration officials have offered mixed messages about whether Washington believes Assad definitely must surrender power - and when.
Tillerson said the US saw no future role for Assad in Syria, given he had lost legitimacy, but added the US isn't pre-supposing how Assad's departure will occur.
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